Arrival Movie Review *Spoiler Alert* and Oscar bets

So I recently watched both Lala Land and Arrival. I saw the former first and thought its was remarkably dreamy and intriguing and for sure Emma Stones as well as the Damien Chazelle will win the Oscars (I still think so). But after watching Arrival which I heard mixed reviews, I actually feel it's a strong contender. And here's my two cents on it:

Screenplay adaptation and cinematography: First of all I haven't read the book (but shout out to the Chinese author Ted Chiang). Having said, how the whole narrative unfolded before our eyes was intricately orchestrated with remarkable details, high level of logic and robust architecture to the wholesome plot. The flashbacks that turned out to be the future was not hastily done at all but subtly and purposefully weaved in well. By the end of the movie, my jaw was just basically stuck to the floor and it was just left on the floor till the very end.

Acting: Amy Adams had a lot to work with here. She had to play a highly educated linguist who was slowly knowing the future and when she knew what was happening had to stay calm of how to save the world all in the midst of coming to terms that her daughter will die of cancer and her relationship with Ian will end of divorce. A bulk of her acting is a lack of words. She is either communicating with the aliens, having "flashbacks" of the past or in a collected manner figuring how to save the world. So it comes down to a lot her facial expressions which many times moved me. I don't know if it's because I am in a lot lesser sense a linguist and simply broody, but I can relate to a lot of her hand gestures and gazes. The difference with her acting vs Stones acting is that Stones had her pauses to let everything sink in vs Adams, she did not get that. But then again it could have been a director call to keep up with the pace of the story. Having said, I would say the acting was good.

What I do want to talk about in terms of this movie is the moral of the story as well as the political chips it has in terms of winning an Oscar in which we all know sometimes Oscars can get political and sometimes shocking. Was Revenent DiCaprio's best acting gig? No but in aggregate acting it was his time and the movie had a political message. So here's what I think about this years contenders: Lala Land obviously created a lot of talk and sends a beautiful message about always following our hearts whether it comes down to career or love. It's Singing in the Rain x Birdman x Whiplash. I agree it's great but what Arrival has is a big message of the world working together to restore order and make peace with "invaders". It is a subtle satire of the world we live in now which is we are more divided than ever about ISIS, we are divided about simple ideologies such as gun control, in which all we lack is a bit of patience and team work that we see in Adams character. She personifies not just knowledge but wisdom, patience, team work and courage.

I have yet to see some of the other movies nominated this year. And I have a strong feeling Lala Land will win best director, leading actress, cinematography, set design, original music score. Casey Affleck leading actor. Supporting Actress no doubt will be Viola Davis especially after the whole blacks being under represented last year, this will pacify them and to be honest she is good. Supporting Actor is really between Dev Patel and Mahershala Ali. Original screenplay is really between Lala land and Manchester by the Sea, but I have a feeling Oscars being Hollywood home ground they will give it to Lala land. Adapted screenplay although Lion has a lot of noise, again I feel Arrival is a strong contender too. Jackie will win costume. Animated film Zootopia. And so for the big trophy of best picture? It's really hard to make a solid bet. Like I said I loved Lala Land but Arrival kind of stole my heart by the moral of the story and political message, much like Hacksaw Ridge stole my heart from the trailer and has a strong story. Moonlight is also strong competition. Oscar sometimes likes to surprise us, especially when there are so many nominees this year, so we really never know.